Whether because of political pressures, organizational culture or a genuine belief that Muslim terrorists pose the greatest threat to the United States 11 years after 9/11, law enforcement has generally ignored the findings of a 2009 Department of Homeland Security report on the growing domestic threat of white supremacist groups. This report was meant to inform federal and local law enforcement strategies against potential threats to the country.

Instead, they have placed efforts on preventing the statistically minute threat of attacks by Islamic extremists. Counterterrorism units have been created. Counterterrorism “experts” have trained law enforcement on the threat of creeping Shariah law. Financial and human resources have been invested in the surveillance of Muslim communities in the United States.

The divide between violent hate crimes and domestic terrorism can be a slim one, and law enforcement needs to see hate groups, too, as a threat to the fabric of this country.

At first blush, this narrow focus on Muslim radicals can be rationalized. Lawmakers believe that terrorism is preventable, while hate crimes are not.

But what our law enforcement and policy makers often overlook is that terrorism and hate crimes are rooted in the same irrationality: inflicting pain on innocents who the attackers believe are guilty, by nature of their ethnicity, religion or nationality.

Sikhs in the United States have faced hate, violence and discrimination repeatedly over the past decade. On Sunday, a group of them were killed by a lone extremist with links to a white supremacist group.

The divide between violent hate crimes and domestic terrorism can be a slim one, and law enforcement needs to see hate groups, too, as a threat to the fabric of this country. Hatred is at the root of terrorism, not religious ideology.